They are creating further requirements that were not the intent of the legislature or the governor.

A new state law that greatly increases how much insurance companies must pay for autism services is being undermined by state regulations that make those services difficult to obtain, providers of autism services say.

Autism service providers are scrambling to pressure the state’s Department of Financial Services to change regulations that effectively limit the pool of people who can provide such services. The regulations, now temporary, could become permanent next week and would greatly affect services provided in Syracuse at places like the Kelberman Behavior and Feeding Program, said Rob Myers, executive director of the Kelberman Center.

The issue comes down to differences between a law and the regulations to implement it, and the differences between certification and licensing.

The law signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011 requires insurers to pay up to $45,000 a year for autism services that include a form of extended therapy called applied behavior analysis. That therapy breaks complex skills into small steps to improve skills and address concerns related to eating, feeding sleeping, toileting and challenging behaviors.

New York's law said that the therapy must be provided by or at least supervised by a certified behavior analyst. New York has roughly 750 board certified behavior analysts. The regulation requiring licensing cuts the pool of eligible supervisors to 43.

The state Department of Financial Services, which oversees the insurance and banking industries, has not yet responded to a request for comment.

There are some 23,000 children between the ages of 4 and 21 identified with autism, according to the New York’s State Education Department.

Department of Financial Service staff “created this impossible, overreaching regulation,” said Judith Ursitti, Director of State Government Affairs for Autism Speaks, a national advocacy group. “By adding that word ‘license’ in the regulations they are legislating rather than regulating. They are creating further requirements that were not the intent of the legislature or the governor.”

Ursitti said it was possible that lobbying pressure from the insurance industry prompted the regulatory requirement.

“The reason I say that is because we’ve passed autism insurance laws in other states, and once we pass the law and begin working on implementation , this particular roadblock seems to be popping up. We’ve had similar situations in Rhode Island and Virginia where we have worked through the process and resolved it.”